Microsoft Unveils Universal Deal For Xbox

Microsoft is making major improvements to its Xbox Live service – including a tie-up with NBC Universal to boost its movie offerings and a raft of new games announcements. The Xbox 360 is battling hard against rival PlayStation 3 in the console market, and after the success of Xbox Live's movie service in the US, the UK will not get a more extensive service of its own. The deal with NBC Universal International Television Distribution means that some of the world's biggest movies will be available to download – many in HD, with the studio joining Warner Bros and Paramount on the Xbox ticket. Microsoft also took the opportunity to talk up its extensive downloadable content including new material for some of the biggest releases of the last year, including GTA IV, and mention the forthcoming MMO quiz 1 vs 100. Commenting on the news, UK & Ireland Head of Xbox, Neil Thompson said: "We are delighted to announce what are perhaps our most exciting content developments to date. "Having an agreement with NBC Universal not only gives our customers even more choice when they use Xbox LIVE but really seals our position as a major player in the mainstream home entertainment space. "Of course, we always want to ensure our core audience have the best possible gaming experiences too, and with the range of new extra content now available they can enjoy some of the biggest blockbuster and social games for longer than ever before. "This also applies to '1 vs. 100', which, whilst still in its infancy, signals the next chapter in the Xbox story which is set to take home entertainment to a whole new level by putting the consumer in the driving seat of their own TV show. Watch this space." ( www.techradar.com )

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Wii Outsells Xbox Three To One

Nintendo's Wii outsold the Xbox 360 by nearly three to one last month. While Microsoft managed to shift a fair few of the boxes it was just not enough to stop punters taking the Wii. According to research outfit NPD, Nintendo shipped 2.04 million Wii's in comparison to the Xbox's 836,000. Sony's PS3 shipped 378,000 units, better than a poke in the eye with a short stick, but jolly disappointing. A breathless Vole told us last week that sales of the Xbox had increased by 25 per cent in comparison to last year and it was pretty sure it had beaten the Paystation 3 by three to one. Its sales, it said were spurred by the recent release of hot-selling games like Gears Of War 2, Fable II, and Lips. The small matter of the fact it slashed its console by nearly a third and enabled it to start streaming HD movies might have helped a bit too.
( www.theinquirer.net )

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Has The Xbox Killed The Desktop Gaming PC?

The all-knowing man on the internet who loudly proclaims that it's game over for the PC doesn't, it transpires, know much at all. Not only is there this sad tendency to declare the PC the Latin of games platforms, but there's also a constant hunt for a smoking gun. Is it Microsoft abandoning it in favour of its own Xbox? Is it piracy? Is it complexity and cost? The key mistake is the confusion of 'change' with 'death'. It seems outlandish to accuse an industry that was worth $10.7billion in 2007 (according to a recent study by the vague-of-purpose PC Gaming Alliance) of being in anything less than rude health. Another report, from research firm John Peddie, suggests that the hardware market is in even better shape than the software market: "From Q3 2005 till Q3 2008, 196 million gaming PCs shipped, and 10 million of them were in the Mainstream Enthusiast class—and if we include mainstream desktop and high-end notebook, we could add another 187 million units—now that really is a lot." ( www.techradar.com )

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Meta Data: Xbox's New Clothes

With Sony's social networking platform, Home, set to launch in beta Thursday, Microsoft has displayed impeccable timing in reminding everyone that it already has a robust 14 million-member online community on its Xbox 360 console. It is no surprise that a cleaner, friendlier and better organized marketplace has spurred the sale of downloadable content. Greenberg says it's a sign that the NXE's new social features (avatars and a "party mode" that keeps players together as they move from game to game) appeal to mainstream consumers. On average, movie downloads increased by 49% and television show downloads increased by 30% the week after the launch of the NXE. The sale of Xbox Live Arcade games tripled. And sales of "UNO"--a game released in 2006 and recently retrofitted to include Xbox's new avatars--jumped by 650% the day after the NXE launch. ( www.forbes.com )

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Full Game Downloads Coming To Xbox 360

Full videogame downloads may soon become a reality for Xbox 360 users, according to Fable creator Peter Molyneux. In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz, Molyneux hinted at full game downloads, saying: "I think it would be a great thing for this studio to work on. I can't say anything else on it – I would be killed to death."

( www.techradar.com )

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EA And 2K Add PhysX

NVidia has something to celebrate at last. Top game makers Electronic Arts and 2K Games have announced they will use Nvidia's PhysX technology. PhysX will appear in EA's Mirror's Edge, in which a courier has to outrun armed troops under the command of an oppressive government. Quite why a Postman Pat style game needs PhysX is not clear, particularly when his cat is black and white anyway. The game has come out on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles and will be released in January for PCs. Those who have seen the PhysX version say it shows improved image processing, in which shattering windows spray glass shards, banners flutter, fabric tears and bullets hit walls more realistically. We guess the post van looks better too. An Nvidia GeForce spokesman said that everything was fully destructible, and he was not just talking about chips for a change. ( www.theinquirer.net )

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New Xbox Arcade With 256MB Memory

Gamers were mildly concerned last month that the Xbox Arcade model, with no internal memory, would not be able to run Microsoft's shiny new Xbox Live Experience. Microsoft originally hit on the idea of offering free memory cards, but even that seemed a bit of a clumsy workaround. Microsoft is now planning on releasing Xbox Arcade units with 256MB of internal memory.

( www.techradar.com )

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Xbox 360 Jasper Mobo Out In Wild

Code-named 'Jasper', it comes with a 65nm GPU, which Microsoft hopes will further alleviate some of the infamous Xbox 360 RROD problems. Xbox-scene's forum members have once again come up with the scoop and low-down. Multiple Arcade Xbox 360 SKUs have been spotted with the new motherboard. The new power supply is now rated at 150W (25W less than those used with previous Falcon boards) and the plug format has changed so you can't accidentally poke this PSU into an older Xbox 360. It's reported the system is quieter than original 360s, but the DVD-drive is the same, meaning you'll have to install your games to a separate HDD if you want to get the most out of your quieter console. ( www.atomicmpc.com.au )

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Xbox 360 Is 3 Years Old, First Warranties Expire

Microsoft's Xbox 360 hit three years of age this last weekend, following its original release in the US and Canada on 22 November 2005. European gamers were treated to our new toy a couple of weeks later on 2 December 2005 (and our Japanese cousins collectively shrugged when it was launched over there on 10 December 2005). Despite its much-reported problems with overheating (the dreaded 'Red Ring of Death') the machine is still the under-TV box of choice for the hardcore console gamer. TechRadar fondly remembers the Xbox 360's UK launch party in London nearly three years ago, when we were treated to what, at the time, was a massive leap forward in videogames (as well as some lovely free massages and gallons of killer cocktails that took us out of action for around 48-72 hours following the event!). ( www.techradar.com )

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GTA 4 Downloadable Content Coming To Xbox In February

Owners of Xbox 360 consoles will have access to a new episode, reportedly called The Lost and Damned. It builds on the plots and storylines that emerged in the most recent game, Grand Theft Auto IV, but the game's protagonist, Niko Bellic, has only a bit-part in the new episode. Instead, The Lost and Damned focuses on Johnny Klebitz, a member of a biker gang that roams the mean streets of the fictional Liberty City. "Johnny is a very different character than Niko, with a very different background," Dan Houser, vice president of creative development for Rockstar Games. publishers of the franchise, told USA Today. "I can't go into too much detail on the story, because we try not to give away too much plot before the game is released. But I can say that the story will show you a different side of Liberty City.

"Tons of details and mysteries from the main story get explained, so it will add a lot of colour to the main story." The extra episode will only be available to Xbox 360 users who own a copy of the original GTA IV game and subscribe to Microsoft's online gaming platform, Xbox Live. No official pricing information for the downloadable content has been released, and Rockstar Games refuse to confirm a rumoured February 17 release date. ( www.telegraph.co.uk )

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New Xbox 360 GUI Out This Week

The 360 should shortly break the 25 million unit mark, beating the original Xbox's top selling point. Microsoft boss Don Mattrick still believes he was the very first person to invent controllable human avatars using the most tenuous argument ever. Don't forget that the 'New Xbox Experience', which is a complete change of the GUI for the Xbox 360, is out this week, on Wednesday the 19th of November. This may give you something to do when you've finished Halo 3 Recon, which Bungie states is only between three and five hours long. ( www.theinquirer.net )

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HD Netflix Streaming Comes To Xbox 360 First

It's something you can't get on the Roku. Nor on LG's BD300. Nor on Samsung's P2500 / P2550 Blu-ray players. Nor through Netflix's own "Watch Instantly" portal. It's high-def Netflix streaming, and it's coming first to Microsoft's Xbox 360. Yes friends, when the all new dashboard hits on November 19th, with it will come HD Netflix streaming for Xbox Live Gold members. You should know that this is only a "soft launch" with about 300 titles available for now, and the litany of details you're surely craving simply aren't available at present time. At any rate, we'd say things just got a lot more interesting in the world of digital downloads, but there's really no need. The real question is: when will everyone else follow suit, and how quickly can we expect current Netflix streamers to get the HD upgrade? ( www.engadgethd.com )

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MS Donates Xbox 360 Kiosks To Childrens Hospital

Pediatric patients at Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children (RMHC) in Denver today received new Xbox 360(TM) kiosks to play with, thanks to a collaboration between Microsoft Corp. and the Companions in Courage Foundation. RMHC is the only Colorado children's hospital to receive the custom-built game units from the program.The Companions in Courage Foundation, started by hockey great Pat LaFontaine, established the Lion's Den Kiosk program with Microsoft Corp. Microsoft delivers the mobile game units to select children's hospitals to provide interactive, fun entertainment as a respite for children battling life-threatening illness.

"Microsoft is committed to keeping kids entertained in a variety of ways within a safe gaming environment, so partnering with Companions in Courage to offer children in hospitals a way to connect through something as universal as games, is a natural fit for the work we do," said Microsoft President, Entertainment and Devices Division, Robbie Bach. "The goal for this program is to give these kids a chance to have some fun and just be kids."
( www.maxconsole.net )

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Ubisoft present Far Cry 2, End War & Prince Of Persia to Australian press

In type Sydney irractic weather of late, sunny one minute, pouring rain the next, followed by gail-forced winds, then solid 30 degree heat and humidity. Who said the end of the world is not upon us, it certainly feels like it . . . With 5 members of our team and the 2 guys from OzBoxLive (Melbournite’s) set out to view what Ubisoft were presenting to the gaming media in Australia.
( xboxoz360gamer.com )

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TGS 08: Halo 3: Recon Is A Stand-Alone Expansion

Halo 3: Recon might still technically be an expansion, but the looming questions is of the game price and distribution type. Here’s what Microsoft had to say “This new chapter in the Halo saga lets you experience events leading up to the epic story told in Halo 3 through the eyes of a new hero in the Halo universe," this statement was taken from their website and it goes on to say that, “The stand-alone expansion, set to release in fall 2009, extends the award-winning Halo 3 experience with hours of new campaign excursions and multiplayer gameplay.
( www.gamercenteronline.net )

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